Ajoy K Das

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Ajoy K Das

Coal India faces challenges in finding merchant bankers for planned overseas acquisitions

28th February 2020 State-miner Coal India Limited’s (CIL’s) planned investment in overseas coal assets is facing stiff speed-breakers, with global merchant bankers unwilling to take up an advisory and due diligence mandate of so-called ‘dirty fuel’. Last year, the miner floated a tender to appoint merchant bankers... →

India fails yet again to make Fraser Institute’s investment destination ranking

27th February 2020 The Indian mining industry has squarely blamed the country’s present mining policy and adoption of mandatory auction for allocation of mineral assets as the cause of the country not featuring in Fraser Institute’s global survey gauging investment attractiveness. “The current mining policy has... →

Coal dispatch in India declines but thermal power plants have sufficient stocks amid economic slowdown

27th February 2020 Despite a decline in coal supplies to the power sector by State-miner, Coal India Limited (CIL), during April 2019 to January 2020, no thermal power plant of India’s largest power producer, NTPC, is facing any shortage of dry fuel, indicating low demand for energy and overall economic slowdown.... →

India likely to slash domestic natural gas price by 25%

27th February 2020 India is likely to slash domestic natural gas prices, in view of the fall in global prices and the forecast of sustained low demand in key markets in the wake of the coronavirus spread. Sources said that as per the administered price mechanism (APM) governing the domestic natural gas price, the... →

NCL firms up plans to increase power generation capacity

25th February 2020 India’s NLC has firmed up plans to increased downstream activity, targeting power generation of 21 011 MW by 2025, of which at least 20% will be from renewable energy sources. In the current financial year, with the commissioning of the 500 MW first unit at Neyveli New thermal power project,... →

India’s SCCL firms up capex to achieve 67.5Mt production next year

25th February 2020 India’s Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) has firmed up capital expenditure (capex) of $423-million for 2020/21 and increased its coal production target to 67.5-million tons, up from the targeted 66-million tons of the current financial year. The SCCL board last week approved the... →

ONGC likely to report production decline

24th February 2020 Indian State run oil, gas exploration and production (E&P) major ONGC is expected to report 3.4% decline in production during current financial year, closing on March 31, 2020. According to a company official, during the first nine months of the financial year, ONGC’s production was maintained... →

Prospective coal block bidders seek bundled approvals

24th February 2020 Large Indian coal consuming companies planning to enter commercial coal mining have asked the government to bundle mandatory approvals before putting up blocks for auction. The companies made a presentation at a recent meeting where government sought input from various stakeholders on best... →

India’s Coal Ministry to fund CIL technical wing to increase exploration activity

21st February 2020 The Indian government has framed a scheme to offer funds to the technical and consultancy arm of State miner Coal India Limited (CIL) to expand exploration activities so that more fully explored coal blocks could be put up for auction for bidding by private miners. Under the scheme, Central... →

India’s NMDC firms up capex to lift production by 50%

18th February 2020 Indian State-run miner NMDC, the country’s largest iron-ore producer, has firmed up capital investments of $324-million to increase production by 50% to 48-million tons a year by the end of 2020/21. The State miner is committing higher capital expenditure (capex) and is significantly ramping up... →

India keen to import more coking coal from Russia and Mongolia

12th February 2020 In a bid to lower its import dependency on Australian coking coal, the Indian government has opened up bilateral government-to-government negotiations with Mongolia and Russia to ship greater volume of the dry fuel suitable for its domestic steel mills. Government officials say that talks focus... →

India employs UAVs to protect Chhattisgarh iron-ore mines

12th February 2020 The Indian government has beefed up security in the central state of Chhattisgarh to increase protection of iron-ore mining assets in the region from threats posed by ultra-left-wing extremists. Besides increasing deployment of central paramilitary personnel, the new security protocol is based on... →

FIMI urges lower upfront payment for India’s commercial coal blocks

7th February 2020 The Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI), the apex representative body of miners in the country, has sought a reduction in upfront payment at the auction of coal blocks for commercial mining. Submitting its comments on a discussion paper on the maiden auction of blocks for commercial... →

Coal India likely to miss production target

31st January 2020 State-run miner Coal India Limited (CIL) will miss its production target of 660-million tons for 2019/20, expecting to notch up production of 640-million tons by end of the current financial year on March 31, 2020. Production, however, will still be 5% higher than the 607-million tons achieved in... →

Indian mining leases too small to be sustainable – FIMI

31st January 2020 The size distribution of mining leases in India are so small that these neither sustainable, nor mined scientifically, according to Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI). According to data provided in a FIMI report, on March 31, 2017, there were 4 128 mining leases of major minerals... →

Ministry pushes for uniform natural gas tax regime in Indian Budget

30th January 2020 India’s Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry is making a renewed bid to get natural gas, petroleum and allied products included in goods and services tax (GST) in the national Budget to be placed by the Finance Ministry before Parliament on February 1. When GST was introduced in July 2017, 17... →

Qatar not to accede to Indian demand seeking renegotiations of LNG contracts

30th January 2020 Qatar, the largest supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to India, has turned down a request from the latter to renegotiate long-term supply contracts. India demanded that the pricing mechanism for LNG imported from Qatar, linked to crude oil, needed to be revisited and long-term contracts... →

Coal India gains environmental approvals for 17 projects

29th January 2020 The Indian government has accorded environmental clearances to 17 mining projects of State-run, Coal India Limited, paving the way for the miner to achieve production of one-billion tons a year. “These clearances will add 150-million tons a year to production of CIL and increase its washing... →

Mining's contribution to India's GDP falling

27th January 2020 The mining sector’s contribution to India’s gross domestic product (GDP) has been falling over the past several years, largely owing to the under-exploration of obvious geological potential and decreasing per unit expenditure on exploration. This is according to the Federation of India Mineral... →

ONGC gets 28 bids to partner in developing small, marginal oil, gas fields

24th January 2020 India’s State-run oil and natural gas exploration and production (E&P) major, ONGC, has received 28 bids for 50 oil and natural gas blocks of the total 64 small and marginal fields that it had put on offer in a search for production-raising partnership. ONGC had clubbed the 64 small and marginal... →

Court paves way for Vedanta to source alumina from competitor Nalco

22nd January 2020 India’s Supreme Court has permitted Vedanta to bid for alumina from State-run National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco) for the former’s bauxite starved smelters in the eastern state of Odisha. Under the court order, Vedanta has been permitted to participate in Nalco’s alumina export tenders... →

India scraps green clearances for hydrocarbon exploratory projects

20th January 2020 In a controversial move triggering ire among environmentalists, the Indian government has loosened key regulations for offshore and onshore hydrocarbon exploration. In a notification issued by the Forest, Environment and Climate Change Ministry, hydrocarbon exploration projects neither require an... →

India starts fifth round of bidding for 11 oil, gas blocks

17th January 2020 The Indian government on Wednesday started the fifth round of international competitive bidding, offering 11 oil and natural gas fields for exploration and development under new financial terms. “In continuation of our aggressive acceleration of exploration and production activities and adhering... →

Indian miners’ body calls for scrapping of copper concentrate import duty

10th January 2020 India’s Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI), the apex representative body of miners, wants a 2.5% import duty on copper concentrates scrapped, questioning its economic rationale in view of nonavailability of copper in the domestic market. In a memorandum submitted to the Finance... →

India eases rules and throws open coal mining to all companies

9th January 2020 India’s Coal Ministry has amended eligibility rules which in effect will enable any company – foreign and even non-coal dependent – to participate in coal block auctions and commercial mining in the country. Until now, the rules permitted only power, metals and mining companies to enter... →

India’s FIMI seeks slew of tax incentives to revive domestic mineral industry

7th January 2020 The Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) is seeking a slew of indirect tax incentives to revive the moribund mining industry. FIMI has submitted a list of changes in indirect tax levies on various mineral and mining products in a memorandum to the Finance Ministry, seeking their... →

India faces acute shortage of manganese, chrome ore: FIMI

20th December 2019 Indian steel production will be hit by an acute shortage of manganese and chrome ore and the demand supply imbalance will create unemployment over a long period, the Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) has warned. “Seven working manganese mines and four working chromite mines are... →

India to set up ‘sustainable development cell’ for coal projects

19th December 2019 The Indian government will set up a ‘sustainable development cell’ to ensure environmentally sustainable coal mining across the country. According to a statement issued by the Coal Ministry, the cell will advise on planning, monitoring and mitigation measures taken by all coal mining companies... →

India’s NMDC gets four iron-ore leases renewed

19th December 2019 The government of Chhattisgarh has renewed the mining leases of four iron-ore mines in favour of NMDC, throwing a lifeline to the miner, already facing closure of one mine in the south. The Chhattisgarh government has renewed the leases for 20 years, ahead of expiry of the existing lease in... →

India’s Coal Ministry simplifies mining plan approval process for new projects

17th December 2019 India’s Coal Ministry has slashed is mining plan preparation and approval process as part of series of measures to ‘improve the ease of doing business’ and to reduce the gestation period for new coal mining projects. The Ministry, in a statement issued on Monday, said that the process of mining... →

India’s national auditor censures CIL for environmental protection breaches

16th December 2019 India’s Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has censured sate-miner Coal India Limited (CIL) on environmental discipline, air quality monitoring, high polluting operations and contamination of ground water. In a report, “Assessment of Environmental Impact due to Mining Activities and its... →

Nalco to start greenfield bauxite production in 2023

11th December 2019 State-run National Aluminium Company Limited (Nalco) will bring Pottangi greenfield bauxite mining project into production by 2023 to support raw material supplies for its alumina refinery plant in the eastern Indian state of Odisha. The three-million-ton-a-year Pottangi mines would be linked for... →

CIL supply linkage rationalisation saves power stations costs

11th December 2019 At least 58 thermal power plants in India have been able to save an estimated $531-million since Coal India Limited (CIL) started rationalising its coal supply linkages, the mining company has claimed. The rationalisation exercise, which started in 2015, entails replacing coal sourced from... →

Indian power plant coal stocks improve despite monsoon dislocations

6th December 2019 Despite production disruptions during the monsoon season, coal stock availability at thermal power plants across the country has shown marked improvement, Indian Coal Minister Prahlad Joshi has said. In reply to Parliament, the Minister said that coal stocks available with thermal power plants... →

Odisha to hold fresh bids for 20 mineral blocks after complaints of anti-competitive practices

5th December 2019 The government of eastern Indian state of Odisha has cancelled the bidding process for 20 iron-ore and manganese mining leases, which had been put up for auction in October last year, following controversies over alleged “unfair and unethical” practices of some bidders. The state government... →

Under pressure to develop or relinquish, CIL commits fresh capex to complete projects

5th December 2019 Stung by a government directive to either develop or relinquish, State-run Coal India Limited (CIL) has earmarked capital expenditure (capex) of $7.89-billion to complete 66 ongoing projects undertaken by its various operational subsidiaries. The 66 ongoing projects, when completed, would have... →

India plans synergies between oil companies through equity cross holding

3rd December 2019 India’s second largest oil and gas exploration and production company, State-run Oil India Limited (OIL), will pick up a majority stake in standalone oil refinery, Numaligarh Refineries Limited (NRL). The consolidation of operations of OIL and State-run NRL comes close on the heels of the latter... →

India to open up potash mining for private miners

3rd December 2019 The government of the central Indian state of Rajasthan has taken a policy decision to open up potash mining to private miners through the auction of reserves. Currently, India is entirely import dependent for its domestic potash requirements with local fertiliser producers shipping in an average... →

Indian State coal miners to hold special supply auctions for stressed power stations

3rd December 2019 India’s Coal Ministry has directed State-run miners Coal India Limited and Singareni Collieries Company Limited to hold special auctions for coal supply to power projects categorised as nonperforming assets as a result of a lack of fuel supplies. As per a directive issued by the Ministry, the two... →

Goa iron-ore miners body demands mining legislation amendment

29th November 2019 The apex body representing miners and dependants in Goa has urged the central government to amend the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act (MMDRA) 2015, as it is seen as the only way to resume iron-ore mining in the region, closed since early last year. The Goa Mining People’s... →

Indian power plant coal stocks improve despite monsoon dislocations

28th November 2019 Despite production disruptions during the monsoon season, coal stock availability at thermal power plants across the country has shown marked improvement, Indian Coal Minister Prahlad Joshi has said. In reply to Parliament, the Minister said that coal stocks available with thermal power plants... →

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